The Frozen Throne
by Jessifer23
Summary: Anna tries to be the best princess she can be, but it's pretty difficult when she can't go a day without tripping over her own two feet; she is hardly the picture of sophisticated grace. It also doesn't help that her sister is The Lich Queen. / Frozen AU where Elsa is The Lich Queen (King) from the Warcraft Universe. (cover credit to ёй on zerochan)
1. The Lich Queen

Before you read the story, I should remind you that, yes, this is indeed a Frozen/Warcraft crossover! I KNOW it's a weird combination, but I had a good idea and I just HAD to write about it. This is probably a good spot to mention that this is the first fanfic I've ever written, so I _really_ hope you guys like it!

This fanfic will center on the back-story of The Lich King and the events of the World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. It will NOT directly follow those events, however. There will definitely be more than a few differences for the sake of the story.

For those not familiar with the universe of Warcraft, I _highly_ recommend you check out the article on The Lich King on Wowwiki or Wowpedia. There's also plenty of lore videos on Youtube. It would be in your best interest to do so, so that you can fully understand my story. Seriously, I could try to explain the backstory in a summary here, but there is too much to it, and I know I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I'd fail miserably.

If you don't want to read through it all, you'll probably be able to figure out the story; however, there might be a few things you don't understand. I'll try my best to write for the sake of everyone.

For those that _are_ familiar with Warcraft and its story, you can probably go ahead and read on. :)

**I want to thank dreamsalittlebigger on tumblr for helping me with writing my first fanfic.** She helped me with proofreading and answered any questions I had about writing. Also, she inspired me to write this after reading her story, Songs of Ice and Snow here on . It's a followup to Frozen, and it's GREAT. There's new characters, a great plot, and OH MY GOD THE FEELS okay I'll stop before I spoil anything...

But seriously, please read her story. It's wonderful.

Thanks, and I hope you like the first chapter of The Frozen Throne! **Please review** if you do and let me know what you think of it!

Enjoy! :)

* * *

The wind howled across the icy barren wasteland. It made its own twisted, melodious tune as it gallivanted across frozen wastes, seeping into every crack and crevice of the ice and snow. The same wind pushed, ever so slowly, an unending wall of ominously dark clouds that consumed a blue sky the land had only seen countless ages ago. The behemoth of clouds was so black and depressing, looking at it for too long could cause any poor soul to be in such a place to lose all happiness and joy in their life.

There were no villages; no people at all, really. Who would choose to live in such a horrid place filled with dread?

The empty, depressing region of Icecrown did not have many admiring traits to it. Having the unfortunate luck to be placed at the end of the planet could make a place unforgiving and terrible.

The only item of interest, and without a doubt its most ominous feature, would be the lone spire of solid, bone-chilling ice that reached to the sky; a spiral ramp, twisting over a hundred times around and around, the only way of reaching the top.

And at its apex lied The Frozen Throne; an icy seat of power made purely of ice to rule over an empty kingdom.

Not that that was _all_ it was meant for. No, sitting on that throne granted so much more.

The Throne, being placed several hundred feet above tons of ice that served as the ground, was impossibly colder than the rest of the wasteland.

But that didn't matter.

The cold never bothered _her _anyway.

Sitting on the throne was the only occupant of the entire frozen tundra of Icecrown. She sat with one hand grasping an armrest in a ruling stature, the other holding the hilt of her sword, Frostmourne. Its sharp tip poked into the ground, serving as an unneeded support for arm.

Her name was Elsa.

That's what she still _tried_ to call herself, anyways. The rest of the world knew her only as The Lich Queen. Commander of the Scourge. Jailer of the Damned.

Yes, she could not feel the cold, or heat, nor much else for that matter. Not since... _then_. Not even the unnaturally harsh wind, combined with the subzero temperatures could call upon a shiver. Not even wearing such heavy _metal_ armor chilled to an ungodly cold could bother her. Not even sitting on this damned block of ice could-

_So, you _do _wish to feel again?_

Elsa was startled by the voice in her head, the only company she had had for so long. Her heart probably would have skipped a beat, if it still could. It surprised Elsa that the voice still alarmed her at all anymore. It has made itself well acquainted with any and all thoughts that would run through Elsa's mind. She would try to keep thoughts to herself, in her own private part of her mind if it were possible, but-

_Must I remind you we are one? We share the same thoughts. The same body. The same-_

_Yes, I am _aware _of our affiliation and its circumstances, _Elsa said sternly into her mind, eyes clamping shut in frustration_. Can I at least have my own thoughts for a few minutes?_

_You knew what it meant for us to be together_, the voice responded.

Elsa leaned forward in the Throne, her hand hanging limply from her sword. _And _you _know that this isn't what I wanted_.

_Of course you wanted it_, the voice chided. _You wanted this and all the power that came with it. Deep down, you desired it all along._

Elsa's eyes opened up, her brow slowly unfurling. _I know that you didn't want this either, Ner'Zhul._

_That is not my name anymore_, the voice snapped coldly. _We aren't allowed the luxury of names. We have no need for them. We are only the Master of the Scourge, Jailer of the Damned._

Elsa's eyes shut again, more calmly this time. _Nevertheless, I hardly desired to be this... Abomination._

_Don't tell me you only did it for _her.

_Of course I did it for her. I wouldn't have taken on this curse for anyone else._

Elsa opened her eyelids to reveal pained eyes. Tears began to form, clouding her vision slightly. "I miss her," Elsa said out loud, "So much."

The voice chuckled. Its sound reverberated around her mind, almost yelling. _You are a fool to think she still loves you after what you have become, after what you have done._

_I can only hope so,_ Elsa responded coldly into her head.

"Because I still love her."

* * *

Stormwind Keep was built a long time ago.

But would it _kill_ them to get new banners?

Anna's eyes wandered to the frayed pieces of cloth hanging from the white, depressing rock walls of the War Room. Her mind frequently wandered, but she truly didn't want to think about anything important right now.

_I get that they were really nice and all, but they're kinda old now, you know? Look at them! I can see the dust on them from over here! They're barely being held together! I could rip it with one hand if I wanted to! Okay well not _literally _with one hand but-_

"Princess Anna?"

_-you get what I mean. I mean_ I _get what I mean. Ripping something with only one hand would be pretty difficult. Wait, am I really rambling in my thoughts? Is that even a thing? Like, is there a term for that? I know I'm bad with keeping sentences short out loud but I feel like _this _is a new level for me. Well, more like a new low. I'd kill for some chocolate-_

"_Princess Anna!_"

"Uggh," Anna groaned with as much irritation as she could convey. "What?"

"Are you going to help us plan the attack? Or would you prefer to daydream until the walls crumble from age?"

"Well they probably will soon, O great King of Stormwind!" Anna snapped, with enforced sarcasm. "This place is _ancient_, the world wouldn't end if you made a few repairs around here!"

Varian glared at Anna, eyebrows furrowing in controlled anger. There was a full five seconds of silence in the room before the king replied. "I'm sorry, how is the appearance of the Keep in any way more important than battling the Scourge?"

Varian rolled his eyes as he turned his head away. "I truly don't know why you're even here."

"My king, if I may," Highlord Hans reconciled from the side of the table opposite to Anna, "I feel the matter we are discussing concerns her greatly. She should be present for something like this. After all, _she_ is her sister."

King Varian slammed his fist onto the war table. Several miniature ships gained air and fell back onto the table with many synchronized _clacks_.

"I am aware of the princess's relationship with _her_, but do you truly think that makes a difference? Princess Elsa is no more. Whoever that _monster_ is, she is something else. Something evil. Pure _evil_. And she _must_ be destroyed."

Anna threw her hands into the air in frustration, accidentally swatting both of her braids up as well. "Look, I'm sorry that my sister became the overlord of the undead or whatever, but I _know_ she didn't want to, and I _know_ that she's still there, so stop saying she's all bad and evil!" the redhead yelled. "I'm not going to stop believing in her."

The king slowly shook his head. Back, forth.

"Elsa is gone, Anna. You have to stop being naive. You know what she has done, what she is capable of. You were there when-"

Anna's hand shot up to hold her palm out to the king's face. _Stop_.

"No. We are _not_ going to talk about that. That day... That wasn't Elsa. I know it wasn't."

Anna turned around and quickly made her way to the large doors of the War Room. "Look, plan this whole invasion-attack-thing if you want, just please..."

She threw the doors open.

"Please leave me out of it."

Anna slammed the double doors shut as she stormed out of the room.

Highlord Hans's eyes met Varian's. The king sighed. "She is still so young. Children. This is why they don't belong in a war room. They can't focus on what's _important_. She still has much to learn."

Hans spoke up. "I agree, however I implore you to try to see this situation from her perspective. To Anna, we are essentially plotting to kill her sister."

The king continued to stare Hans down. "The same sister that killed their own father."

Hans let out a sigh as well. "I'll speak with her later."

Varian nodded. "Very well. As I was saying, if we are to break past the first gate, we'll need a battalion of troops to..."

* * *

Anna walked at a hurried pace as tears began to form in her eyes.

Dealing with King Varian she can handle. Having to listen through boring war-talk between him and Hans she can deal with. Even if that war-talk was centered around killing her sister. Just barely, she could endure it.

But she could not bear to think about that day. It just brought up too much pain. A few years have passed since the horrible incident, but it still burned in her mind like it happened yesterday.

Anna finally realized where she was, but continued fast-walking. Her mind had been fully focused on what had just happened in the War Room, and didn't really have anywhere in mind to go; she just allowed her legs to take her wherever, as long as it was _away_.

She had been subconsciously making her way to the stables, because Kristoff was there.

Anna couldn't help but remember the first time she met Kristoff, as embarrassing as it was. As she walked, Anna replayed the scene in her head. He was working in the stables when she first arrived on her horse, and when she tried to dismount Anna kept true to her clumsy nature; her foot got caught in the stirrup and landed face first onto the ground, foot still hung in the air by the saddle. The sight threw Kristoff into a fit of laughter, unable to control himself. Kristoff freed her and helped her up, but not before Anna let out a quick commanding "shut up." Kristoff insisted that he didn't say anything, and they had bonded together since then.

Anna made her routine entrance into the stables: walk in, groan as loud as possible, and collapse face-first into the nearest pile of hay.

Anna heard Kristoff chuckle through the straw that surrounded her head. "Well, what is it _this_ time?"

Anna mumbled something to Kristoff, except she didn't bring her head out of the hay, so all that came out of her mouth was loud, muffled sounds. The only word Kristoff could understand from the girl was the word "king."

Kristoff turned from the horse he was tending to. "Can you try that again, except without a mouth full of hay?"

Anna pulled her face out of the pile of hay, spitting a few stray pieces of straw from her mouth. "King Varian is an asshole!"

Kristoff jumped at the outburst. He was surprised at the redhead for cursing, as she only did so on _very_ rare occasions. "Whoa, now! Keep it down, feisty pants! You don't want the wrong person to hear that."

"I don't _care_ who hears it! I _really_ don't like him," Anna yelled, although not quite as loud as previously. She rearranged herself into an upright position on the pile of hay. "He- is- a- _jerk!_" Anna threw a handful of hay at every word.

Kristoff let out a sigh. "Okay... How about you tell me what he did that makes him such a jerk?" Kristoff made a quick scan of the surrounding area. "And seriously, quiet down, okay?"

"Okay, fine." Anna took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "He made me go to a war meeting."

The blonde shrugged. "That's kind of your duty, isn't it? Like, as a princess and all?"

"Pffft, I don't know! I barely know anything about war! I never had to do anything that important, it was always Elsa that did the important stuff," Anna explained. Kristoff hoped she didn't notice when he cringed in the smallest way at the mention of The Lich Queen's name.

"Anyways, you didn't let me finish. He wanted me to come to that meeting, and I _really_ don't like going to those in the first place, but I still have to because, you know, _apparently_ my experience in battle is useful to them. That was a joke by the way, I've barely swung a sword in my life-"

"You're good with a bow though," Kristoff interrupted. It was true; Anna, despite her clumsy nature, was actually very skilled with a bow. As a child, she knew she would have to learn some sort of combat skill, and when offered a sword or a bow, didn't like the idea of being so close to someone that wanted to chop her head off. She chose the bow, and discovered a strong natural talent for it over the years as she honed her skills with the weapon.

"That's not the point!" Anna retaliated, snapping her hand up to point a finger at the blonde. She also held her eyes as wide open as possible and jutted her bottom lip out, a stern look on her face that said she was serious. "Now stop interrupting my sob story!"

Kristoff chuckled and shook his head. He held his hands in the air, indicating his innocence. "By all means, continue!"

Anna narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. "_Alriiiight_," she said with suspicion in her voice. "Anyways, that's not even the worst. The meeting was about planning an attack on Northrend, 'cause Elsa's there now, and I _kinda_ don't wanna help plot to kill my sister, you know? And I tried to let them know I didn't want to- UHP! What did I say?"

Kristoff had opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it once Anna caught him.

Anna continued. "I tried to let them know I didn't want to be there by pretending I wasn't interested and ignoring them- well I guess I wasn't _really_ pretending, I didn't want to be there at all- but then Hans said I should be there because Elsa's my sister and everything, and then Varian was all 'It's not Elsa anymore, she's gone now, blah blah blah' and when I told him Elsa isn't gone he tried to talk about _that_ day and- and-"

Anna didn't want to continue. She _couldn't_ continue.

Kristoff saw the pain in her face and knew. The mere mention of the subject always upset Anna. He practically leaped over to the girl, grabbing a stool as he did so. He set it in front of her and sat down on it. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, so that he was at eye level with her.

He noticed her eyes were glistening with the beginning of tears.

"Hey, it's alright, you don't gotta finish the story. I get it. He brought up... _that_," The blonde said that last word as carefully and gently as possible. "I'd hate his guts too if he tried to bring that kind of thing up to me."

Anna jumped off of the messy pile of hay and attacked Kristoff with a hug, practically tipping him over on the short stool.

Kristoff was taken aback by the friendly assault, and had his hands hovering in the air for a few moments. Then, they slowly moved to return the embrace. He could feel Anna's shoulders rising and falling at an unsteady pace, letting out quiet sobs.

They remained that way for a while, Anna finally pulling back after a full minute. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy as a result of her fit of tears. She noticed a large wet spot on Kristoff's shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry," Anna choked, "I think I just used you as a t-tissue."

Kristoff laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it, I've been your tissue..." He looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Six times now."

The redhead let out a giggle. "No way, I haven't cried _that_ many times since I met you!"

"You're right, that was the seventh time."

Anna stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. The blonde chuckled again. "Hey now, stop that. Come on, let's go shoot a few arrows off. I'm terrible at it, but the range always cheers you up." Kristoff stood up and turned around to make his way out of the stables.

Anna smiled brightly, her cheeks bunching up into her eyes.

"Kristoff?"

"Hmm?"

"...Thanks."

* * *

Elsa gazed upon the snow-covered landscape before her. Small mountains stretched until they faded into the horizon, where white snow met black sky. She stood at the top of a large cliff that reached several hundred feet to the ground below.

She looked down, and slowly fell to a kneeling position on the powdery snow.

Or rather, her _body_ did so. Right now, the voice had taken over her actions. Right now, all Elsa could do was watch helplessly through her own eyes, a hostage in her own mind.

Right now, she was The Lich Queen.

Still kneeling, her hand was laid flat on the powder. Her hand swept across the snow, pushing it aside to reveal thick ice beneath it. She waited a moment, then stood back up.

As Elsa spectated, a distant memory bubbled to the surface of her mind. It was an old memory; one of her and her father. Helpless to do anything else, she let her father's voice echo in her mind.

_My child, I watched with pride as you grew into the strong, young princess you are now._

She felt her arm move across her body, her hand grabbing Frostmourne's hilt. Carefully, it was pulled out of its sheathe, and extended directly outward, the heavy blade held perfectly still by an inhuman strength not belonging to Elsa.

_Remember, our line has always ruled with wisdom and strength._

The light snowfall provided several snowflakes to land on the sword. As each did, they melted, leaving a magical blue glow to spread around on the blade's steel, each light growing from where its respective snowflake landed. The sword quietly hummed with power, small tendrils of dark blue light radiating off of it.

Suddenly, both of her gauntlets were on the sword's handle, and pointed it straight down to the ground. With strength again not her own, the sword was thrust into the ice, cutting through it like butter.

_And I know, you will show restraint when exercising your great power._

Large cracks spiderwebbed on the ice from the sword as the ground began to shake. Thick slabs of ice began to rise, giving way to something beneath them.

A mess of huge, rotted bones pushed the ice away from above them, breaking free from their frozen prison. With ease, a colossal hand with terrifyingly sharp claws burst forth from the ice, landing with a thunderous _crunch_ as it pulled the rest of its body of bones from the frozen lake.

Within seconds, the rest of the dragon had pulled itself free of the ice. No skin remained on its old, rotting bones. A ghostly blue light emanated brightly from its eye sockets.

The bone dragon made its way to the edge of the cliff, each step shaking the ground beneath it. Once it perched on the large cliff, the dragon spread its wings to a colossal wingspan. It jumped off the rock face, plummeting downward, then curving back up to glide through the air at a breakneck speed.

_But the truest victory, my child, is stirring the hearts of your people._

Hundreds of thousands of undead soldiers, skeletons with swords and shields and armor, stood at the bottom of the cliff. They watched mindlessly as the bone dragon thundered past them in the air. They pointed their chins up to the air, and joined together in a ghostly, bone-chilling roar. The same bright blue light glowed to life in their eyes and mouths as they let out their war cry.

_I tell you this, Elsa, for when my days have come to an end..._

Elsa looked upon the massive army from within her own mind. She felt one side of her lips curl into a smirk.

You _shall be Queen._


	2. Bragging Rights

**I'm extremely happy you all liked the first chapter! Thank you to all who reviewed- I appreciate your supporting words! I intend on updating this more often, and I apologize if the wait was a little long for you. Anyways, enjoy chapter 2! Thanks :)**

* * *

_Thud_.

"_Hey!_"

Kristoff fired an arrow that was meant to hit a target. Unfortunately, it missed. Horribly. It almost hit an old man standing off to the side of the range, but instead hit the wall of a house behind the range.

Kristoff frantically called out an apology. "Damnit! Uh, sorry! That was my fault!"

The old man, a range worker, wasn't any more thrilled. He was unaffected by Kristoff's apology. "Do you even know how to use that thing?! Don't bother coming here if you can't even shoot straight, you stupid oaf!"

"Then how am I supposed to get better?" Kristoff quickly replied.

The old man opened his mouth once, then closed it. "Baaah," he yelled, throwing his hands up in the air as he walked away in defeat.

Anna giggled. "That went well," she said with a smile. "You sure showed that old sheep who's boss!"

"He's got a point though, I'm terrible with with a bow. And I was lying, I'm not really trying to get better, to be honest."

"Why do you come here then? Is it because it gets too smelly in the stables?" Anna teased, wiggling her eyebrow up and down. "Need to get away from all the hay and manure you live in?"

Kristoff chuckled lightly. "No, I come here because, despite me being a horrible shot, it's kind of relaxing. And it's really satisfying when I actually do hit the target,'" Kristoff set his bow down on a nearby table. "I also mostly come here with you when you're feeling down. I've noticed it always cheers you up."

Anna tightened the grip on her bow with both hands. She felt her cheeks get slightly warmer.

"Awww, thanks _Kristopher_," the redhead teased, "Nice to see you still care about me!"

"Hey, take me seriously for once, alright?" Kristoff cheeks reddened at her banter. "I like seeing you smile, it makes my day better."

The blondes face exploded in red at the realization of what he just said. "U-uh I mean- what I meant t-to say was you-" Kristoff struggled to form words.

Anna's face warmed at the compliment, feeling a genuine smile form on her face.

_He's so cute when he gets all flustered like this!_

"Hey!" Anna poked Kristoff with the end of her bow. She giggled, ignoring the yelp of pain that came from Kristoff. "Would you calm down? It's funny when you get like this but jeez lighten up!" She smiled slightly more. "Thanks for the compliment, alright you big goof?"

Desperate to change the subject, Kristoff quickly turned around and picked his bow up. "Let's just keep shooting, okay?" He nocked an arrow, pulled the string back, and took his aim down the range. He let it loose, only for the arrow to fly into the wooden leg of the target with a _thunk_.

"Well, it's an improvement from the wall," Anna deadpanned.

The blonde grimaced at her comment. "Thanks for the criticism, _princess_."

"Hey, don't get mad at me, you said you didn't care if you got better anyways." She patted Kristoff on the back. "And hey, it's still an improvement!"

"Well that's the problem," Kristoff said, setting his bow down again, "I don't try to improve because I know I can't. I'm only good at a few things, and archery is _not_ one of them." The blonde folded his arms.

"Oh, come on," Anna exclaimed to him, throwing her hand at him as if to wave away his doubt. "You'll never get better with _that_ attitude!" She nocked an arrow. "It's all about practice..."

Anna whipped her hands and arms into shooting position, quickly pulling the arrow back onto the string and resting the heel of her hand on her cheekbone all in one swift, fluid motion. She released the arrow, sending it flying straight into the center of the target Kristoff's arrow landed on earlier.

"...And not being a big, clumsy nincompoop!"

Kristoff was still staring wide-eyed at the target. It never ceased to amaze him how good Anna was at this! _I wonder how many bulls-eyes she could hit in a row..._ Kristoff pondered.

It took a moment for him to realize what Anna had said. When he finally broke his gaze of amazement, he turned his head to squint his eyes at the teasing redhead.

"Wait a second, _you're_ talking to me about being clumsy? Do I have to remind you about the time you tried to get off your horse, but failed miserably? That was hilarious, by the way, your foot was still dangling in the air and your _face_ was flat on the ground and- and-"

Kristoff couldn't contain the hilarity of the image in his head, and he burst out in loud laughter. He bent over slightly to hold his sides.

Anna, on the other hand, wasn't enjoying the memory. She pouted, folded her arms, and rolled her eyes to stare somewhere above her on the ceiling. "Shut up, _Kristopher_," she muttered. "You don't have to remind me, I remember perfectly well, thank you!"

The young man wiped a small tear from his eye as his fit of laughter ended. "Relax, alright? Just jokin' around. I get it- practice more. I know that."

Anna's face was still warm from embarrassment, but she tried to ignore it. She also hoped Kristoff didn't notice. "Yeah, after doing this for as long as I have, you kind of get really good at it." Anna smirked a little, slightly taking enjoyment from her boasting.

Kristoff only fed her growing ego. "I bet you can't get three bulls-eyes in a row," taunted the blonde, pulling one eyebrow up in a daring manner.

A smug look quickly manifested on Anna's face. Her lips pulled into a cocky grin, showing only a sliver of her teeth. She grabbed three arrows from the barrel and slammed them onto the table next to her, never breaking a gaze locked on Kristoff's face. Anna couldn't resist a good challenge.

"Oh, it's _on_."

In the space of a second, Anna swiped the first arrow from the table, nocked it, and had her arms raised, ready to fire. She let it loose, and just as she expected it, landed dead center of the target.

Once more, Anna scooped up the next arrow and was ready to fire in an instant. She took a deep breath this time, holding the exhale until after the arrow is launched. It loosed, and the projectile met the bulls-eye of the next target in the row.

Before the focused redhead continued her test, she shot a quick glance up at Kristoff. The same smirk from earlier reappeared on her face; her look sent a nonverbal message of confidence to the young man, who was still looking on the range with his eyebrow raised. He noticed Anna's look at the corner of his eye. "I'm waiting!"

She turned back, picked up the last arrow from the table, and slowly pulled her bow up, affixing her hand on her cheek to provide a steady aim.

_I got this in the bag._

A deep inhale, and the arrow teared swiftly through the air, as if disappearing from Anna's hold and reappearing in the last target...

...Just to the left of its center ring.

"D'ahhh, _come on_! That's not fair!" Anna threw her bow onto the ground in a fit of frustration. "Stupid range bows are terrible, they don't have the right grip and– _hey_! You'll stop laughing if you want to keep your big fat head intact, alright?! Shut it!"

Kristoff was deliberately pointing at Anna and laughing aloud. "Yeah, _suuure_! Blame it all on the bow! Excuses, excuses, excuses!"

Anna, greatly annoyed by the blonde's teasing, whipped the bow up off the ground and with one fell swoop crashed it on the side of Kristoff's head.

"OW! Jeez feisty pants, calm down! I was only teasing..." Kristoff reached to touch the spot where the wood had connected with his skull, but slightly winced in pain once he did. "You're lucky I have a thick skull, you know that? Those things are built rock solid. They could do some serious damage."

Anna furrowed her brow in anger. "Oh, you have a thick skull alright," she retorted, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout. She always did that when she was trying to act tough. "But seriously, I swear it really was the bow! The ones they have here aren't very good. If I had _my_ bow..."

She wanted to finish her test. Yes, it was just a petty dare, but it was a dare from _Kristoff_. A challenge from him meant that she would do whatever it takes to meet that challenge. _Unless I had to kill someone or something, that would be bad. Well, I mean, people kill people every day, but even though I don't see it happen, it's still bad! I guess people don't get killed over stupid dares from friends... Do they? It's a crazy world, I wouldn't doubt it. I guess if I had to kill a monster or a boar or something— Damnit! I did it _again_!_

Anna spun herself around and bolted away from the range. "I'm gonna get my bow from the castle, then I'm gonna make you eat those words!" Anna yelled over her shoulder. "You hear me?!"

Kristoff shrugged his shoulders, a small smile on his face.

"She always gets like this. Crazy."

* * *

Anna made her way through the Old Town, and had to remind herself to stop sprinting like a maniac; she is a princess, and princess' can't be seen acting so strange and childish.

_Not that it matters,_ she thought, slowing her pace to a quick walk. _There's almost nobody around. It's Old Town, for crying out loud!_ Normally the royal girl could care less about what people said about her, but nevertheless thought it best to try and maintain a good public image and _not_ act like a small child hyped up on sugar.

Her thoughts had truth to them; the section of Stormwind the people called Old Town (for obvious reasons) very often had next to no occupants. It mostly served as a path between the gates of Stormwind and its Keep. But it did have the stables. And the archery range. And Kristoff. _Okay, so maybe the place isn't _completely_ useless..._

As she walked, Anna heard the familiar hustle and bustle of the nearby Trade District. Often, when she was bored, Anna took midday strolls through the busy streets of the district, just to get away from the dust and dullness of the castle. She enjoyed seeing all the lively people; whether they are simply chatting or arguing, she just liked to see the activity. Of course, there were many more exciting endeavors the conniving redhead pursued, but most people didn't approve of her bore-driven shenanigans around the Keep.

The princess continued walking on the cobblestone street toward the castle. She noticed how carefully and neatly they had been laid, as well as how clean and well-built the marble bridge over the canal was. _Figures, they make sure the rest of the city looks great and brand new, but the castle still looks as old as... The Old Gods._

Once she had reached the already-lowered drawbridge into the spacious front courtyard of Stormwind Keep, Anna made her routine scowl at the gigantic marble statue of King Varian, standing between two large fountains at the center of the yard.

"Egotistical jerk," she muttered to herself.

She climbed the white stone stairs up to the main entrance into the castle and, once she made sure nobody was around to see, began skipping happily through the commodious hallway up to the throne room. It was empty, along with the rest of the castle. It was well into the evening; business in the castle had concluded for the day, but the summer sun still allowed a couple more hours of daylight.

Anna once again noticed how neat and well-kept everything was. _Oh, _sure_, keep the part of the castle everyone will see nice and clean, but the part _I_ have to look at all day can just rot away from all the dust!_

She made her way down a much smaller hallway towards her room, or rather the room they had given Anna when she arrived here a few years ago. Halfway down the lengthy hallway, she heard a door click open behind her.

"Princess Anna?"

Anna turned around. Standing halfway out of the library door was Highlord Hans.

"Oh, hello! Didn't expect to see you here, Hans."

Hans took a step forward out of the doorway, now standing fully in the hall. "Yes, after our meeting with King Varian I'd hoped to speak with you, but assumed you would prefer to be left alone for the time being. I decided to wait and read in the library until you returned from... wherever you went off to." Hans fiddled with his gloves, tightening them unnecessarily.

Anna's lips pulled up into the faintest of smiles. "Oh, well, um... Thanks for giving me a little space, I guess. You guessed right, I wasn't feeling up to much of anything after jerk-face tried to bring _that_ up." Anna blinked. "Hey, how long have you been waiting in there? Did you know when I would come back?"

Hans chuckled. "Well, I had plenty to read, I do enjoy a good story every now and then. As for knowing when you got back, I figured I'd just wait until I heard the pounding of feet skipping down the hallway."

Anna blushed a bit at his deduction; of course he knew Anna would be the only one in a castle to run around like a small child. "...How clever of you."

"Oh, please don't be embarrassed! Gods know a bit of cheeriness is needed in this castle, let alone all the land," Hans reassured. "I apologize for being so straight to the point, but would you mind if we took a walk in the gardens? We can speak there, and the atmosphere is much more opening than this dusty old hallway."

Anna held in a laugh at that last part. At least _someone_ agreed that this place could use a little cleaning.

She turned her head to look back at her room. Kristoff could wait a little longer. There's still a couple hours of daylight left.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go."

* * *

"I must apologize for the king, he can be very abrasive when trying to get his points across."

The royal pair strolled leisurely through the castle gardens, side by side. A look of disgust formed on Anna's face at the mention of King Varian. "He didn't have to be an insensitive jackass."

Hans coughed in response, looking around to make sure no one heard the princess. "Nevertheless, I do hope you can forgive him. I understand that is a subject of..." Hans pursed his lips. "...Sensitivity to you."

"I just don't get him," Anna burst out suddenly. "Does he think being in charge means he can do whatever he wants? Like he's trying to kill my sister, can't he try to think of another way to fix the problem? He won't believe me that Elsa's just under control or something. Why does every solution just have to be 'kill the bad guy?'" The redhead groaned. "_You_ never let being a king get to your head, and I feel like he's getting there."

"Well I never really was King, I just ruled in his absence. And even then, I'd say I didn't fare too well at calling the shots," Hans narrowed his eyes. "After all, I let a _dragon_ in disguise help me lead this city. I still..." He pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tightly. "I still can't believe I could have been so _foolish_."

Anna accidentally let a snicker out, poking fun at Hans' misfortune. "Hey, I know that sounds bad when you say it like that, but her disguise was pretty good, I had no idea either! I mean who'd have thought a nice, pretty lady would actually be a dragon? I mean, how does that even work? That's some strong magic to just shrink a huge fire-breathing lizard down to the size and shape of a human! And– what was her name? Onxya? Something like that– anyways–"

"Onyxia," Hans interrupted. "Her name was Onyxia."

"Right, right. Is it just me or is that a weird name? It sounds so weird, _Onyxia_. It doesn't really roll off the tongue. Maybe something like–" Anna slapped both of her palms to her face. "I did it again._ I. Did. It. Again._ I wouldn't be able to stop rambling if my life depended on it."

Hans raised a hand and softly placed it on Anna's shoulder. They both stopped walking, and Anna took her face out of her hands to look up at Hans.

"No need to be embarrassed, Princess Anna. Like I said before, this castle needs more excitement and joy, much like the kind you radiate every day. It certainly adds some enjoyment to an otherwise dangerous and cruel world."

"O-oh, um... Thanks!" Anna blushed much more than in the hallway. "I'm sorry, I uh, don't know how to take a compliment."

Hans chuckled. "That's exactly what I'm talking about." He then changed the subject, which Anna was grateful for. "Anyways, I'd ask you to find it in your heart to forgive the King. Perhaps speaking with him might alleviate some tensions between you two?"

Anna pouted. "Maybe," She folded her arms angrily. "If I feel like it. I don't know, I'll think about it. I guess."

He knew that was the most he would get out of the girl on the matter, so he ended his efforts on that note. "Thank you for considering. Right now, it's best for all of us if we can get along, I'd say."

Anna contemplated his words for a moment. They had some truth to them. If she wanted some other resolution to her Elsa problem, she'd have to get on Varian's good side. _I can't remember the last time I even asked the guy how his day went, how would I be friends with the jerk? Maybe not thinking of him as a jerk would be a good start. Should I bring him chocolate? I really like chocolate, what if he does too? No, that would be stupid! I don't know, I'll ask Kristoff what he thinks I could do..._

_Kristoff!_

"Oh, um, I'm sorry but I have to leave, someone's waiting for me! Thanks for the advice!" Anna whipped around and ran towards her room, but made sure to give Hans a wave goodbye on the way back inside.

Hans waved back, an innocent, friendly smile on his face.

* * *

Elsa stood at the top of the Spire, looking down upon the expansive frozen wasteland several hundred feet below her. Several strands of her hair floated about in the icy wind. She stood tall, her small frame unnaturally supporting the large, heavy armor she wore with ease. Far below, hundreds of thousands of undead soldiers worked tirelessly and obediently. Scaffolding and structure frames stretched for several miles around the towering Spire.

As she watched the army work, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Many visions came to her all at once; one for each animated soldier. They were numerous, but yet she could see through every one of them as if they were her own. A hammer striking an anvil, cold hands of bone working to assemble scaffolding.

_Enjoying yourself?_ The deep voice echoed through her mind.

_Well, there is hardly anything better to do to pass the time._

_So you would spy on your army while they labor relentlessly? Invade their privacy?_

Elsa furrowed her brow. _They are dead. Why does that matter?_

_It doesn't. I suffer the same as you; I grow impatient. Tormenting you is just my way of handling _

_the problem._

_Haven't you done enough to make my life miserable?_

_What life? You're dead._

_Yes, I am well aware. You don't need to remind me. And you don't need to be so technical. I'm _

_physically dead, not mentally._

_Always splitting hairs._ The voice chuckled quietly in her mind. _I have an idea to make this wait __less tiresome. Why don't we give Azeroth an idea of what's to come? We can give them a __small taste of our power. We must start somewhere, after all._

Elsa slouched in her armor, her head bowing slightly. _You ask as if I have a say in the matter._

The voice cackled once more.

_You're right. You don't._

* * *

A few hours later, Anna returned to her room from the range. She opened the door, tossed her bow onto the top of her dresser, and collapsed onto her bed. She was drained; not physically, but emotionally.

When Anna returned to the range, the first thing she did was have another go at Kristoff's dare. She met the challenge with ease. Each arrow landed dead center in the targets, three in a row. Anna made sure Kristoff wouldn't let him live this down. She already gave him a mouthful, her bragging rights getting the best of her. Kristoff simply kept his arms crossed and frowned, never saying a word.

As she let sleep slowly take her, Anna hoped she wouldn't have a repeat of the haunting images that flood her mind almost every night since that day. Isn't having gone through it enough, to see the horror firsthand?

Anna missed her sister immensely. But these memories of Elsa weren't the kind she wanted plaguing her mind every night. She wanted to remember the times they cherished together as children. Of all the fun they had.

Not memories of _that_ day.

* * *

**Again, I'm trying my best to make sure everyone can understand the story, since it is so heavily dependent on Warcraft's lore. There are some things I'd like to clarify:**

**1. I always assumed that after Arthas became The Lich King, he began building Icecrown Citadel, and that it wasn't already there when he arrived. I'm going to keep playing on that, so I apologize if I'm wrong!**

**2. Yes, there was a dragon in disguise in Stormwind. Dragons can do that in Warcraft, it's kind of like they have their own human form. Anna doesn't quite understand that. Look up Onyxia on WowPedia if you're curious, but it's alright if you don't. As far as lore goes, that story is already done with, and I won't be including it in this fanfic.**

**3. The next chapter will be a sort of flashback to how Elsa became The Lich Queen (EXPOSITION!) so I hope you all will like a little backstory.**

**Thank you for reading! :)**


	3. Brill

**I'd like to apologize for how long this chapter took for me to write. There's really no other excuse I can make other than that I'm a TERRIBLE when it comes to meeting a deadline; I always wait till the last minute to finish something, and since there's really no set deadline for this kind of thing... .**

**Anyways, I realize this isn't exactly how things went down in Warcraft 3, so don't kill me for inaccuracy. 'Tis for the sake of the story. plzkthxbai**

**(Apparently the first time I posted this chapter, it was a mess of code... not sure how that happened, I literally just copy and pasted the text. Anyways, it should be better now.)**

* * *

"Check."

"Aww, already?"

Elsa giggled. "I'm afraid so."

Elsa and Anna, the princesses of Lordaeron, sat on opposite sides of a table in castle's library, enjoying each other's company in a game of chess, an activity they shared regularly. The late afternoon sun shone through the large library window, angling the rays onto Elsa's side of the room. The light reflected off her bright blonde hair, which was fixed into a large braid, as it usually was. Her lavender robes were trimmed at its edges with ice, making those bits refract beautifully as well. Perks of being a very adept frost mage; the ability to make armor with your own conjured ice. Of course, regal as she was, Elsa wanted to use it for vanity purposes for the majority of the time.

Anna scanned the chessboard in front of her, looking for a way to save her King without possibly setting it up for further danger in the next turn. It was always difficult for the girl to remember exactly how all of the pieces could move; the bishops can move diagonally, the knights can move in an "L" shape, the pawns can only move forward a space at a time, but can move two spaces on their first move...

She felt a sudden prod on her forehead. "Ah, hey!"

Elsa lowered her hand from Anna's face, a goofy grin on her face. "The pieces won't move if you stare at them like that. You have to use your hands, remember?"

"Don't start teasing me already Els, you haven't won yet!" Anna retaliated by reaching over to quickly flick Elsa on her forehead, releasing a small yelp of pain from the older sibling. "And I know I have to use my hands smartypants, I'm just trying to think of a good move," Anna added, before resting her chin on her hand, resuming her strategizing.

The two sisters always enjoyed sharing friendly competition. They would often play each other in chess, even if their goals were the same every time: Anna just wanted to get closer to beating Elsa, and Elsa liked to see how long she could toy with her sister to give her false hope of still being involved in a fair game.

Anna extended her hand to grab her king, resting on it for a few moments to ensure her next move would be the one to get her out of trouble. Knowing Elsa, she's probably a step ahead of me, knowing I'll make a wrong move and fall right into her little trap…

She carefully moved her King piece a space to the left, seeing as Elsa's rook was stopping her from moving up or down. Anna would have moved another piece into its path, but Elsa had already thoroughly cleaned out most of the younger sibling's pieces.

Elsa smirked the second Anna set her King down to confirm her move. Damnit, I'm going all according to her plan, aren't I?

The blonde picked up her remaining knight, a smug look on her face. She moved it to put Anna into check again. I can never remember to take into account how those ones move! The rest of the pieces either move forward, backward, left, right, or diagonally! That's easy to remember, not the stupid horse-looking pieces that move in an "L!" Why are they called knights anyways? They're horses, for crying out-

"And I believe that is checkmate, my dear sister."

"Wha-?" Anna's mouth fell open in disbelief. She had thought out the best plan of escape from her clever sister's strategium. She had looked at every possible outcome for every move she could make with the King. Well, I think I looked at them all.

"Wait," the redhead blurted out, "I can still move it here! You don't have anything covering that spot!"

Elsa just shook her head and smirked wider. She placed her index finger on the top of her bishop teetering it back and forth on the marble chessboard in a teasing manner. The bishop was far away from Anna's king on the opposite side of the board, but of course, despite the distance, it was still in the bishop's diagonal path. Elsa had won. When the solemn redhead realized her defeat, she slowly moved her eyes from the board to meet Elsa's gaze, staring right back at Anna in a triumphant grin.

"Auugh," Anna groaned, "I always forget about the bishops, they're always getting me from so far away!" She looked up from the board. "Oh, wipe that smile off your face, Elsa!" Anna lazily flicked her King over onto it's side. It landed with a flat clack, signaling another loss at the hands of her dear older sister.

Princess Elsa giggled at her sibling's expense, at which Anna stuck her bottom lip out and looked away. She held her pout for the duration of Elsa's fit of laughter. She was used to Anna being a sore loser, and couldn't help but laugh at how the redhead coped with being defeated by her sister; it never got old to Elsa.

When Elsa's snickering ended, she brushed a few stray golden hairs away from her face that had fallen down while she was cracked up. She reached across the table and laid a hand on Anna's shoulder. "Good game, Anna. Maybe next time you'll do better."

"Yeah right, you'll just destroy me like every other game of chess we've ever played," the redhead scoffed, turning her head away.

"You won't know until you try."

Anna turned back to Elsa, an eyebrow cocked up into her forehead and a sly smirk on her face. "I think we both know what will happen next time, Els." Anna giggled lightly; she never could be upset at her sister for very long. "And I know you'll find a way to convince me to play you again. You always do," Anna shrugged.

"Indeed I do," Elsa replied while taking a sip of tea from the glass next to her– holding it pinkie out, of course.

Anna couldn't help but laugh at the dauntless regality of her sister; always queenly and royal. "Indubitably!" She responded, in the best high-class accent she could make.

Suddenly, there was the sound of heavy feet running outside the room, approaching the library doors with loud thuds that increased in volume with every step.

The doors burst open. The intruder was Falric, a loyal Captain in the Alliance army, but he is also sworn to protect the princesses at all costs, serving somewhat as the "right hand" of Elsa and Anna. He would do whatever they asked, without question; Falric was heavily devoted to the Crown of Lordaeron.

"I apologize for the intrusion, miladies," the Captain announced, "But there has been an incident at Brill." Falric's short brown hair was clinging to his forehead from sweat, a result from running in the bulky armor he was wearing.

"Is it serious enough to require our immediate attention?" Elsa asked. She quickly eyed him up and down as he stood in the doorway. "And by the Light, Falric, how can you wear that plate armor all the time?"

He chose to ignore that question and answer the more important one. "From the reports, yes. I believe you'll want to deal with the problem personally. It seems there is a necromancer attacking the town. For the moment, we are unsure of his motives."

Elsa stood up. "You're right, I do want to see this necromancer myself. I won't allow him to terrorize my people for his own gain." She made her way to the door. "Come, Anna."

Anna, not usually one to eagerly jump into a potential battle, knew better than to question her sister. If she were in charge, Anna would have sent soldiers to fix the problem; but Elsa was in command in this situation. Having been raised expected to rule the kingdom, Elsa was heavily devoted to Lordaeron and her people. Any act against them would set her off.

Father always said it would make her a great queen someday, Anna thought to herself. I say it would eventually get her killed.

"Anna, what are you waiting for?"

The redhead jumped out of her chair. "Right, right, sorry! Just… Thinking!"

Elsa shook her head as she turned to leave the room, Anna following her out. "Time is of the essence, Anna…"

* * *

The trio rode as fast as their steeds could run straight to the town of Brill. Unfortunately, during their trip, the sun had set. Their only source of light became the moon's white glow, until a few street lamps from Brill shone in the distance. When they arrived there, only empty streets greeted them, along with an eerie, unsettling silence.

Elsa dismounted her horse and scanned the area. "What happened to everyone, Falric? Where are the townspeople?"

"Well, from what the surviving guards said, they made their best efforts to tell everyone to stay quiet in their homes, and lock their doors. So, if nobody's on the streets, they're either hiding…" Falric slowly reached down and gripped his sword. "...Or with the necromancer."

"Y-you mean as, like, undead?" Anna asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes, Anna. It's common for necromancers to raise their victims from the dead in order further their efforts. It's their only strategy, really."

Elsa's explanation did nothing good to ease Anna's nerves. She became very unsettled, her frown deepened and her eyes widened in fear.

Elsa noticed her younger sister's dismay. "Anna, don't be scared of them. This necromancer, his kind of magic feeds off of fear. The more fear you show, the more of an upper hand he will have on you." She laid a hand on Anna's shoulder. "I know you can handle yourself well, but if things get hairy, I'll protect you."

Anna looked into her sister's eyes and knew that, with every fiber of her being, Elsa meant what she said. Suddenly, knowing she had her older sister here to have her back, made Anna's fears fade away. She was ready for anything.

This whole situation is still really creepy, though.

The three walked down the road, the whole time ready to react to anything. Falric's hand never left his sword's hilt. Anna held her bow at her side, her right hand twitching to be ready to grab an arrow. Elsa kept her wits about her, ready to use her ice magic in an instant. They looked down every alley, checking for any sign of the necromancer. By the time they reached the town hall, they hadn't found any trace of evidence.

"I don't like this," Anna announced. "Seriously, this is whole situation is screaming bad news."

"Just keep looking, Anna. Be ready for anything. I have a bad feeling about this as well," Elsa answered. "We've almost searched the entire town, he will be somewhere around here."

Anna's uneasy curiosity turned her head to across the road, where Brill's cemetery lied. The funerary grounds were small in area, but nonetheless the tombstones were still numerous.

Some of them are so ancient, there's moss growing on them! I can see from all the way over here how green they are, even in the dark. Especially that one waaaay over– wait, is that...?

Standing on the far side of the graveyard was a dark, robed figure. Anna couldn't discern exactly what patterns were on his robes, but they seemed to be blended with black and dark yellow. She also noticed the large hood covering the top half of his face, leaving only a rather long, white beard to run down his chest.

"Hey!" Anna yelled at the top of her lungs. "You stay right there!" Anna broke out in a sprint for the cemetery. Elsa and Falric only noticed in time to see the swift redhead had already passed the open cemetery gates.

"Princess Anna!" He started running to her aid, but stopped at the gates. The captain knew better than to run straight into what could very obviously be a trap. He didn't expect Princess Elsa to come barreling past him straight into the cemetery, though. With a loud groan, he ran to follow them both.

"ANNA!" Elsa screamed, voice almost cracking from the strain on her vocal chords. Elsa was clever enough to know that the cemetery was a trap as well.

But her dearest sister just ran straight into the center of it.

Anna instantly let muscle memory overtake her, and had an arrow nocked in the blink of an eye. She ran towards the mysterious man, stopping only several yards away from the man and swiftly raising her bow to aim it at him. She had an aim of steel, and without moving the bow even an inch, she yelled to the figure. "What have you done here? What are you trying to do?"

In response to her warning, the man simply brought one hand high above his head, and outstretched his fingers, as if reaching to grab something from the stars.

"Anna! Get away from him!" Elsa screamed. Anna only noticed she had abandoned her group now; she was too caught up in finding the culprit to care about sticking together; She was too focused to heed her sister's warning.

Pitch-black tendrils suddenly exploded out of the necromancer's raised hand, reaching across the entirety of the cemetery, like a fountain of black void. Dozens of the dark coils shot into the ground. Their magic resonated through the ground, making it rumble and shake.

Anna stumbled and lost her balance, almost falling over from the quakes. Gathering her senses, she regained her footing and raised her bow back up to aim at the necromancer. She struggled, but managed, to keep her aim steady. She blocked out all the noise the unholy magic was radiating, and let her arrow loose.

It flew straight for him, but the necromancer raised his other hand to cast a bolt of pitch black shadow at it, consuming it whole. However, it continued it's path.

Straight for Anna.

She never had a chance to process the shadow bolt flying at her. Before Anna could even flinch, a wall of ice barely big enough to cover her body materialized in front of her. The redhead stumbled backwards and fell down from the The shadow bolt slammed into the barrier, dissipating into the air with a long, drawn-out hiss.

Elsa managed to protect her sister at the perfect time. Once she saw she successfully blocked the bolt, she rushed over to Anna, stumbling on the short way there; the man's dark magic was still shaking the earth. "Anna!" Elsa called out reassuringly, "Are you okay? It didn't hit you, did it?"

She was still in shock from the extremely close call. Anna blinked twice before answering. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay, thanks for saving me."

Falric followed Elsa, finally catching up to the sisters. "Forgive me for interrupting," he announced, "But none of us have been saved yet."

Elsa grabbed her sister under the arms and hoisted her to her feet. Anna was surprised by the sudden forcefulness of the woman; it was unlike her to be so assertive. She then quickly realized the reasons for Elsa's roughness, and the direness of the situation they were in.

Right. No good in a fight if I'm sitting on my ass.

Once Anna stood on her feet, the trio stood at each other's backs, weapons at the ready.

The necromancer's fountain of unholy magic subsided, and an eerie silence stood on the graveyard for a few moments.

Then, all at the same time, rotting hands of bone and flesh sprang forth from every grave of the cemetery, grasping at the dirt to pull the rest of their decayed bodies from the ground.

"Anna, Falric, be ready."

"As always, your majesty," the Captain sighed as he drew his sword from its sheathe.

"Oh, I was born ready!" Anna announced to her companions. She tried her best to make it sound convincing, because in reality the redhead was scared for her life; she is no stranger to battle, but when it comes to the undead, Anna wasn't sure what to expect.

Within moments the creatures had pulled the rest of themselves out of the ground. The three were surrounded by too many ghouls and skeletons to count.. Their eyes glowed a ghostly blue, fixed on their prey with dangerous hunger.

Anna was the first to react, firing an arrow at the closest ghoul she saw. It landed in its skull, snuffing out the monster's glowing eyes with a sickening crunch.

Both sides sprang into action at once. Despite their physical form of decaying remains, the group of undead moved swiftly. Several of the ghouls attempted to mob Elsa. She responded by shooting her hands outward, quickly invoking several spears of ice and launching them into her addled foes. The lances sliced through them with ease; their soft, rotted skin made disposing of them almost effortless.

Hardly being a stranger to battle, Falric charged into the fray, using his sword to hack and slash through every ghoul that came near him. The undead were no match for his expertise.

Anna's hand moved as fast as she could possibly command it to, rapidly firing arrows into the mob. Each landed, a target, but it wasn't enough. The horde of undead was slowly, but surely, gaining ground on her.

Despite her focus on the undead creatures, Anna caught movement from the corner of her eye; the necromancer was attempting to escape.

"Hey! He's getting away!" Anna called out to anyone who would hear.

Elsa heard her plea, and realized how naïve she had been; the necromancer had risen many undead creatures, but they were weak cannon fodder. With everyone's skills, especially Falric's, actually holding the horde off would be child's play for them.

It was all a distraction; a diversion for the necromancer to make his escape.

"Falric! Make sure he doesn't get away," Elsa yelled, slinging more ice lances at the horde gaining ground on her. "We need him alive!"

"On it!" He broke into a sprint, charging straight through the horde in an attempt to catch up to the fleeing man. he came through the other side of the wall of zombies unscathed, leaving several ghouls flat on the ground. Their target well gone, the remaining undead turned to Anna and Elsa, now standing back to back at the center of a circle of fiends closing in on their prey.

"Got any ideas?" Anna said nervously to her sister, "Because I'm almost out of arrows!"

"I have something in mind! Be ready, it's about to become very cold!"

Elsa's brow furrowed in concentration, as she prepared herself to cast her spell. Anna felt the temperature drop disturbingly fast. A cold wind swept up around her, frost beginning to coalesce on the tombstones and foliage.

She brought her hands into the air, signaling an ominous black cloud to form a ring above them, leaving a hole directly above the pair.

The ghouls shambled closer and closer, only feet away from the sisters. "Elsa, you wanna hurry things up here?!"

The blonde ignored her, still deep in concentration. She silently commanded her storm clouds to begin raining down ice shards upon the horde. The cold made their movements even more sluggish than before, but the large jagged chunks of ice were effective in putting them down.

There was no mercy. Elsa's ice storm decimated the rotted frames of the undead, raining down like frozen hellfire around the sisters. It did a number on the environment as well, leaving the grass impaled with many icicles and reducing tombstones to rubble.

When the storm subsided, what was left of the ghouls was laying on the ruined ground in pieces. It would be a much more gruesome sight if the bodies now scattered around the graveyard had been alive; Anna was glad for that. She was sure her stomach wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Elsa brought her hands down from above her, only to brace herself on her knees to keep from falling over. The complicated and powerful spell took much energy from her; she felt like she had just ran several miles without rest.

Anna laid a comforting hand on her older sister's back."Elsa, you alright?"

"Yes, Anna…" Elsa managed to huff out between breaths. "It's just that… That spell… Was exhausting…"

"Do you need a minute? If you need to rest for a bit, we can-"

"No, we must…" Elsa quickly snapped, only to stop to continue to breathe heavily. "...we must go. Falric has most likely apprehended the necromancer by now. There's no time to waste."

Anna was about to question her sister, wondering if her drained sister really was fit to move right this second. Then she remembered how ardent Elsa is towards defending her kingdom, and always putting its needs before hers.

"Anna, I'm fine. Let's go."

"If you say so,"Anna mumbled, following her sister as they led off into the direction Falric gave chase to earlier.

* * *

The sisters luckily managed to catch up to Falric, as he did not let the necromancer get far. They followed a trail of tall grass disturbed by a chase, leading out into a field where they found the captain and his prisoner, already tied up thoroughly to prevent his escape; the tip of Falric's sword at his neck persuaded him to think otherwise of any further attempts at fleeing.

How did he manage to catch up to him wearing all that heavy armor? Anna pondered. The guy acts like hes not even wearing it…

Anna was snapped out of her daydreaming when Elsa brushed past her quickly, eager to talk to the perpetrator.

"Put him there. On the tree." She wasn't in the mood to waste any time.

"As you wish, Princess Elsa." Falric picked the shrouded man up from the ground, throwing him over his shoulder and dropping him rather roughly next to a tree, propping him up against it. He mumbled something about "brainless oaf" and "barbarian."

Falric pulled his sword from its sheathe, presenting it for the man to see. "Now, I don't need to point this into your neck to tell you that trying anything won't end well for you, right?"

The trio heard the man's voice for the first time. "Whatever makes you feel safe, dog," spoke the necromancer in a clear, stern tone. "I've already done my part. I'm the least of your worries at this point."

Elsa walked over to stand over the the necromancer, kneeling down to be at eye level with him. "What is your name?" She asked, clearly and coldly.

"Kel'Thuzad. Pleasure to meet you, your highness."

Elsa, not the least bit impressed by his sarcasm, simply moved on with her interrogation. "Why did you come to Brill? Are you acting on your own, or did someone send you?"

"Why in the world would I tell you any of that?" Kel'Thuzad scoffed.

"Very well, if you prefer the hard way…"

Elsa brought her hand up to the man's forehead, pressing her thumb firmly against it.

Anna saw smoke start to rise from where Elsa pressed her finger, and was greeted with the disturbing smell of burning flesh.

Kel'Thuzad groaned through his teeth in agony, holding back a scream of pain. He writhed and shuffled against the tree. "You bitch," he spat at Elsa through clenched teeth.

Elsa removed her hand, revealing a pitch black spot of seared skin, severely burned from the subzero cold. "Ready to talk now?"

"If you insist on lowering yourself to torturing me, then I suppose it won't do any harm to tell you." The necromancer repositioned himself against the tree, obviously uncomfortable from the ropes binding him.

"You know of the granary here? It delivers grain to cities and settlements all around Lordaeron." Kel'Thuzad chuckled quietly before continuing. "Not very smart to have one supplier of such a crucial resource."

Elsa's impatience only grew. "Get to the point, or you'll have many more burns to worry about."

"So eager," he grunted. "I infected the shipments of grain with our Plague long before my presence here was even known. Many have left already, but I think the one you want to worry about the most is the rather large shipment to Stratholme." Kel'thuzad smiled through his thick beard. "My cultists made sure that the shipments were delivered."

"What do you mean 'our Plague?' Who are you working for?"

"I'd say Mal'Ganis is already at Stratholme right now, ensuring things go according to plan." He laughed smugly to himself. "You three certainly took your time coming here, didn't you?"

"Stop speaking so vaguely, necromancer! What is this Plague you're talking about? Who is Mal'Ganis?"

"You're wasting your time with me, princess. Tick tock, tick tock…"

The furious blonde snatched Kel'Thuzad by the front of his robes, pulling him in closer to glare directly into his eyes. "Answer me!"

Elsa slammed her palm onto the man's forehead, prompting smoke to sizzle away from where she planted her hand. The necromancer only began to cackle, ignoring the pain.

Anna was the one to finally step in. "E-Elsa, I think we should go. I don't think he's going to say anymore."

Elsa turned to her sister, contemplating her words. After a moment, she turned back to Kel'Thuzad and removed her hand. A pitch-black scar covered the man's forehead.

Elsa stood back up and sighed. "You're right, this man has served his purpose."

Anna watched in shock as Elsa promptly conjured a sharp lance of ice and fired it directly through the man's heart. Crimson spattered out of his mouth and the wound in his chest, seeping into his robes and shining bright on the ice in the moonlight.

She yelped at the sudden violence, not sure what to say. She opened her mouth, not sure of what would come out; asking Elsa why she did what she did, or chew her out for making such a rash decision so easily.

After a long moment, closed her mouth, deciding to remain silent. She knew Elsa was wise, and generally made the right decisions after looking at a situation from all angles. It was probably for the best that Kel'Thuzad was dead anyways.

Suddenly, he coughed, spurting out more blood from his mouth, warranting another shriek from Anna.

"My death… means little in the long run... For now, the scourging of this land… begins..."

Kel'Thuzad drew his last breath, exhaled, and ceased to move.

His last words sent a shiver down Anna's spine. This sounds to be much worse than she ever could have imagined.

"There's no time to waste," Elsa announced to the group. "We have to get to Stratholme now. Let's get back to the horses, we have to hurry." Without missing a beat, Elsa began walking back towards the main gates of the town where they left the steeds. Falric followed her. "Right away, milady."

Anna followed her sister, her mind elsewhere. She was still shaken by the necromancer's hallowing words.

'The scourging of this land?' What is that supposed to mean? Can't say I've heard the word 'scourging' before, but it sounds like it doesn't mean anything close to good news.

Left to contemplate the the chilling warning in her thoughts, Anna mounted her horse, following her sister to the large city of Stratholme.

And whatever horrors awaited them.


End file.
